Will looked at Sylvia, his feelings tangled. He could not drag them into this.
"Sylvia," Will said softly, his tone gentle but firm, "I'd better go to the award ceremony alone."
Sylvia frowned, her dark brown eyes fixed on him. "Why? This is important. You should have family and friends there to support you. Besides—" She paused, her voice dropping. "I want to see you win."
Will was touched. He might be a little slow on the uptake in some ways, but he was no fool. That was precisely why he could not agree.
He knew exactly who Rock Rowle was—a Death Eater.
There would certainly be plenty of Death Eaters at the ceremony. Take Sylvia along? Absolutely not. Her family had stood against Voldemort before, especially her grandfather Roy, who had even suffered Bellatrix's Cruciatus Curse.
"The Society for the Promotion of Alchemical Excellence is complicated," Will said, choosing his words carefully. "There are factional disputes, and some people are after the benefits tied to the Werewolf Venom Curse. If you go, you might get dragged into trouble you don't need."
It was a half-truth. Improving the Werewolf Venom Curse really had threatened certain people's interests, but that was not the real danger.
Will did not answer directly. He just nodded. "So it's safer if I go alone—safer for everyone."
"The Lestrange family isn't afraid of that."
"If you really think of me as family, then I can't let my family get hurt because of me. Think of your grandfather. He can't take another few hits from the Cruciatus Curse."
Sylvia was silent for a long time.
At last, she took a deep breath and nodded. "All right. But promise me you'll be careful. If anything feels wrong, leave immediately. I'll have Dad send people to wait nearby in